Fooled by a Trojan horse

John Beattie, chair of the General Teaching Council for England, makes much of the "knockabout-fun" in Philip Delnon's letter (TES, April 30) and yet he argues, apparently straight-faced, that "pressure of work" is a rational explanation for the appalling apathy manifest by the majority of members.

Nice one, John.

Surely it is a lack of clear thinking such as this at the top of the GTC which is more likely to begin to explain current apathy.

As a further example of the same lack of clarity, I note that not one of your three council member correspondents even alludes to the appalling fact that fully four years after the initiation of the council, the latest statistics confirm that the number of unqualified teachers in England is increasing yet again.

Worse still is the Trojan horse issue of classroom assistants teaching classes which appears not to bother the GTC one whit.

Might I suggest that getting a grip on major issues like the above will do much more for GTC credibility and thus future voting figures than any amount of tinkering with the electoral process as suggested by Carol Adams, the chief executive of the GTC.

James Scott 29 Lady Margaret Road Crawley Sussex

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